Illinois Farm Families Blog

Last season, Ron and I hosted the Field Moms’ Acre, where our Field Moms followed an acre of our soybeans through the season.  Recently, we had the privilege of delivering the profits from that acre, in the form of ground pork, to the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry. More than 150 families will have pork on their tables thanks to the 2012 Field Moms.

Despite the drought last year, the Field Moms’ Acre earned a profit of $281. The Field Moms decided to donate that amount to the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, where Field Mom Amy Hansmann volunteers. We rounded the profits up a bit to buy more than 150 pounds of ground pork.

Amy and her son Kyle met us at the food pantry to present the donation. The executive director for the pantry, Michele Zurakowski, was very grateful for the donation. As you can see, we filled up their freezer!

This year, the Field Moms are following a pen of pigs to market and the growth of an acre of corn and an acre of soybeans. Follow along with the Field Moms’ Acre and Pen all season.

Deb Moore, Roseville

The afternoon of our recent tour took us to the Monsanto Learning Center located in Monmouth.  To be honest I was looking forward to hearing about the Monsanto products and was happy to lose myself a bit in the amazing concepts being used to develop different types of plants. Although I am very concerned about chemicals used on what I eat and how different processes might impact my family’s health, I am all for using science to find new ways to effectively grow food. 

 Recently I have learned about vertical farming (I love high rises!) and tomato farms with no soil at all. There are so many new ways to do things. Just because they are not the old-fashioned type farm doesn’t make the food less desirable.  Here in the Midwest we grow mainly corn and soybeans so maybe some of the new fangled farming without soil isn’t right around the corner, but there are lots of new things I had no idea about. 

 Monsanto is an agricultural company that focuses on producing higher yields with fewer resources. They sell seeds, develop different traits with biotechnology and create crop protection chemicals. The location we visited is focused on corn and soybeans as are the local farms. However they do also work on modifying vegetables as well. They develop hybrids using genomics to alter traits on the different plants. They are not significantly changing plants so much as finding ways to make them more efficient and reduce stress on them. When we were in the classroom we could see a collection of corn and how it has changed over the last many thousands of years. In general it has not changed much—maybe a little more robust but overall not a lot. It was pointed out that the goal is NOT to make huge changes, but they change proteins to manipulate specific traits. They cannot “grow a giraffe with a hippo head!”

Stress on crops is reduced by helping them to survive pests, endure varying weather and provide reduced competition with weeds that compete for space and nutrients. This leads to increased durability, higher yields and enables more success in difficult conditions. As an example, in the early 1900’s to grow a bushel of soybeans it required 3,960 square feet. By the late 1900’s the area was reduced to 1,740 square feet.  In 2012 the same bushel can be grown on just 1,040 square feet. It is impressive in numbers, but we were also able to see the difference that makes in space. At Monsanto they have fields created in each of these sizes and it is remarkable to see the space reduced to less than a third of the initial area.

The ability to genetically modify plants impacts food production all over the world. In the developing world it helps farmers to grow food in areas where it was not feasible before because of limited resources. This not only produces more food, but lessens their dependence on outside providers. For producers of fresh vegetables it allows for the ability to transport their goods if they have fewer pests and tougher skin. For the consumers it can increase desirability such as enhancing flavors, increasing nutrients or even the size such as smaller peppers or melons. There is more variety if you can get products from different growing areas and the more produce available, the lower the price too.  Of course I am a hater of the “new tomatoes” that are very pretty, but in my opinion very tasteless. I was relieved to hear from Monsanto’s Director of Vegetable Industry Affairs that now they are working to get the taste back now that they survive shipment much better. Until then I have to stick with the farmers market while my own tomatoes ripen on the vine!

While at the learning center we were able to learn about some of the key products that Monsanto is known for producing. Round-Up weed control is used by farmers to reduce the number of weeds in their fields. This is the same Round-Up you see advertised on TV and at your local garden center. I used it at home for a very pesky weed and you would of thought I was using Agent Orange I was so careful—both in my application (with a paint brush!) and in my attire. This provided great laughs for those at Monsanto who assured me it is actually pretty gentle. It capitalizes on the difference between mammals and plants and selectively targets specific enzymes and creates an amino acid that we do not have. It has nowhere to go in our system so it passes through. That was a relief! Next was learning about “Round-Up Ready” corn and beans. Monsanto has modified corn and beans to be resistant to their own chemical. The field can be sprayed to kill competing weeds with no harm done to the crop itself. It seems genius to me!

At the end we learned a bit more about BT corn, a type of corn we saw growing at the Moore’s farm. This corn has the protein from a bacteria “Bacillus thuringiensis” actually inside the plant. The rootworm that is known for devastating corn crops eats it and cannot process it. It stops eating and then dies, eliminating the problem. BT is found in soil throughout the world and is naturally occurring. It is an allowed pesticide in organic farming, but in that setting it is sprayed on the plants and soil. By integrating the BT into the crop it eliminates the need for chemical spraying and the resources that requires.

 Also at the Moore’s farm we saw the “refuge” corn growing amidst the BT corn. To try to avoid a BT resistant worm from developing the federal government requires that farmers using BT corn must plant at least 20% non-BT corn that the worms can feast on. The refuge corn at the Moore’s was eaten through—we could see the damage on the leaves and stalk and eventually one of the accompanying farmers got out his knife and cut the plant open so we could see the actual worms. 

As with other products we learned about, we were told that the BT protein does not affect us as we have different systems than the rootworm.  However this is the product that gets the most crazy press coverage. I first saw an article on GMO food in Vogue magazine right before our tour. It cites a 2011 study by Aziz Aris in Canada that found the BT “toxin” in the blood of pregnant women and their fetuses. At first this makes you gasp and panic and say oh, no! I looked it up on the internet and I saw dozens of articles published all over the world and the assorted comments that went with them. Not one ever answered the very short question. “So?” Every article stated the discovery but neither the articles or actual research has revealed any side affects from the protein, which is toxic to the worms—not the people.

As we ran out of time our tour finished up with acknowledgements for the need for farmers to work smart instead of just working hard. The average farmer today feeds 155 people per year compared to just 26 in 1960. We were reminded that farming is competitive and mediocre farmers (not doing what you can to preserve the soil and resources) are likely not to survive and just as quick there will be someone else to farm the land. The parting comment was that “Mother Nature Rules” and that Monsanto is constantly looking for alternatives to current problems.

Amy Hansmann

Field Mom

River Forest, IL

There are a few things that I constantly remind myself of while doing my “farm stuff,” as my family calls it. We need food. The world needs food and many places cannot grow their own.  As a culture we have become very dependent on corn. And as an urban consumer with many shopping choices I demand variety and relative perfection, at least in my produce. Keeping these things in mind helps give me context for the things I see and the reality of today’s farming. It is a lot easier to NOT go off the deep end on many current issues. Herbicides and insecticides are scary when you know nothing about them!

On our trip down-state (to me that really means south of 22nd street in Chicago) we met with farm bureau staff, farmers, the Twomey Company (chemical mixers) and Monsanto. It was a great variety of meetings. Upon arrival at the Twomey company we stood at the front office and learned their role in farming. Basically providing fertilizer and herbicide mixed to the specific needs of individual customer’s fields. In reviewing the audio tapes of what was said I came away with the same impression I did on tour—that the folks that work here are an integral part of the team it takes to productively grow corn and beans. Furthermore, it was another lesson on the demands and hard work it takes to be successful.  They talked about winter planning, spring and summer applications, fall harvest, drying and shipping corn and finally sampling the fields for current nutrient levels. There was an emphasis on the volume of work being conducted and the fact that high season demands working 7 days a week, sunset to dusk applications and chemical mixing during the night hours just to stay ahead.  In addition, to the obvious personal time demands we also heard about the time corn takes from harvest, to transport and drying to shipping down the Mississippi--3-5 days to St. Louis and 10 more to New Orleans! Not to mention its travel to its final destination such as Japan. Japan is the #1 foreign buyer of US Corn. 60% of our soybeans leave the US bound for Asia, especially to China.

The lesson on hard work was really just a warm up to learning about fertilizer that the Twomey company produces. I was very interested and a bit fearful about what I might learn given that chemical fertilizers get a bad rap in the press. The fertilizer we learned is a mixture known as NPK, a combination of the chemical symbols of each of the three naturally occurring chemicals used, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium.  This mixture is a “synthetic fertilizer” because it is a mixture of the raw ingredients (Nitrogen in the form of Anhydrous Ammonia) instead of a fertilizer such as compost or manure where these elements may be naturally occurring. Quite honestly, that put me at ease a bit. I always thought that “synthetic chemical fertilizer” was something cooked up in some specialty lab somewhere and didn’t resemble anything natural at all. The mixture is added to the fields to give the corn the nutrients it needs to grow in the same area year after year. All life depends on nitrogen (used to build proteins and amino acids) and we all consume it in the air we breathe. I have learned that it is the #1 thing that needs to be added to soil for corn production, and it needs to be in a form that the plant can use as it cannot use the Nitrogen in the air, but needs to absorb certain forms of Nitrogen from the earth. The NPK is mixed for each customer based on the soil samples taken in the fall and the necessary ration of each is blended into the mixture, such as 18-46-0 where 18 would be the number of pounds of N or nitrogen. A standard mix you might buy at the garden store for your home garden might read 5-5-5 or 5 pounds each of NPK out of a 100 lb bag.

Most of the fertilizer is mixed into a liquid form before application. Technology plays a big role, not just in the checks and balances used when creating the right mix, but also by the machine during application. The fertilizer is dispersed by a 90ft boom off a tractor using a 2400 gallon tank. The computer and GPS monitors what is sprayed and where and if the driver was to backtrack or change course the sprayer would turn off to avoid more fertilizer than necessary being applied. Too much can hamper a plants growth, contribute to environmental problems such as hypoxic zones in our waterways and waste money. Before this type of technology existed we were told that farmers used tape on the windshield to help them line up the rows of the field! Phosphorus and Nitrogen are the most soluble nutrients applied when planting corn. Depending on the soil type, typical black dirt which is rich as potting soil or the sandy loams found closer to the Mississippi, fertilization can be adapted so the nutrients are not washed away. Phosphorus can be planted along with the corn to increase its use/absorption or it can be “spoon-fed’ through the center pivot irrigation systems prevalent in the area near the river. I was surprised at how small of an amount is being used. In one example given, it was 45 gallons dispersed per acre. After doing all the math it comes out to 0.134 oz per square foot. Literally, it is one tenth of an ounce being distributed via a fine spray. It definitely contradicted my assumption of mass amounts of chemicals being applied.

Amy Hansmann

Field Mom

River Forest, IL

Prior to our visit to the Gould’s farm, I hadn’t really thought much about pork production. Where I live our food comes in packages and our farm stories come from children’s books. For the most part the only thing I know about pork is how to cook it. My family eats more pork products than any other type of meat—so it was fun (the piglets are SO cute) and interesting for me to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how the meat that makes it to my table gets it start in life.

The Gould’s farm houses 700 sows in a “sow center” and they focus exclusively on breeding, gestation and farrowing. Our tour started in their family office where they explained the process of insemination and gestation, farrowing and eventually starting all over again.  The field mom’s on this tour were in for quite a shock as we discussed all, ahem, aspects of impregnating the sows! We even had the experience of witnessing the process, something I had never, ever considered while at home cooking for my family. On this farm they purchase semen to be used with their sows and it is selected for multiple reasons including characteristics that affect size and meat quality. Some of the specific attributes are indicated by the producer as consumer preferences, such as leaner meat. It was great to see science being used in parallel with Mother Nature. The Gould’s chart each sow’s cycle and check her status by using a “tease” boar (male)—they are not rushing or forcing the process. It was interesting to learn that the gestation period is 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. Just prior to her due date, a sow is moved to the farrowing crates where she will deliver and stay with her piglets for the following few weeks. The deliveries are not scheduled or induced due to a business plan. It was amazing to walk into the farrowing room on our tour just as a sow was delivering her 7th piglet of the morning, somewhat of a surprise to Chris Gould as she had not even started two hours prior to our visit.

While I was pretty sure that I was not going to encounter a pig named Wilbur and his friend the spider in an idyllic country setting, I was a little overwhelmed by the view of the sows inside the sow center. The sows are kept in metal crates which protect them from each other and enables the farmers to give individual attention to each sow.  These crates are lined up within the barn from end to end with narrow walkways for farmers and boars to access all of the sows. It seemed so incredibly huge and barren and the sows are all kept facing one direction. While they can lay down, they cannot turn around. Taking this all in for the first time was hard, mainly because I, as a person, would not like to be confined this way. Despite this initial feeling I kept an open mind to what I was seeing and to the individual pigs.  They were all clean and well cared for. They seemed happy enough as much as a random visitor can judge an animal’s happiness. As we walked through you could hear them snuffling and their ears would perk up as they gave us a cursory glance.  Once it was determined we did not have food there was not much interest on their part. It was a very low stress atmosphere and actually quite peaceful.

It wasn’t a surprise to learn that the crating of the sows is a huge industry topic right now. It was great to see for myself and to hear the opinions of an expert (Janeen Salak-Johnson from U of I) along with us for the tour so that we could understand the contrast between reality on the Gould Farm and what we see and hear in the media. We learned that the debate includes animal behavior and their natural instincts to determine social order through violence (as is true with many animals, including the cattle we viewed on the last farm tour). Furthermore, it is important to determine the actual needs of the animals, including whether more space is needed for turning around or other behaviors.

The tour to the Gould farm enlightened me to this serious political and ethical debate that is raging about sows being crated.  I cannot avoid further mention of the controversy as the discussion on crates took up such a huge part of our tour. As I mentioned at the farm, I feel many urban consumers are so far removed from our food and where it comes from that it is easy to latch on to negative stories in the media as truth. Some of the uproar certainly is a defense mechanism to feeling manipulated by those that sell us our food. I do want to eat pork (or beef or chicken), but I don’t want animals being treated poorly. There are many parts of this issue and I feel I need to start by deciding what I want to eat, how much I am willing to pay for it and what issues I have with specific practices and why. Housing animals indoors and in the case of sow crates, individually, has a lot of benefits including safety from the elements and each other, ease of checking them for disease or injury and the ability to adjust food for each individual animal.  As outsiders looking in we need to be practical about what we see. These are animals that are intended for people to eat—not house pets. The producers of the animals we eat are business people running a business. What is good for the animals is good for the farmer, but more space also has a real cost. I saw animals that were very well treated by caring farmers.  I would like to see the future include a little more quality space for animals, but with the understanding that the sweet farm where Wilbur and his friends live, in reality, would not feed the world or even the city of Chicago.

Amy Hansmann

Field Mom

 Like many other field moms, I was quite surprised when we arrived at the Larson Farms. We were expecting a farm house and instead got a modern house that functions as an office for a very substantial farming operation.  Within the first few minutes I was struck by how the Martz family uses technology in their farming operation. Mike described using ultrasound to determine the fat/muscle ratio for the cattle.  Lynn later described how they use GPS on the farm machinery to determine how much nitrogen or phosphorous is in the soil, the amount that needs to be added, how much seed to plant where and the yield of each section of field. In both instances the use of assistive technology allows them to be restrained in the use of their resources to keep costs down and reduce their environmental impact.

 At both the Larson and Lindale Farms I was pleased to find animals being very well cared for. Larson Farms finishes cattle, meaning that the cattle on this farm are here to gain weight in preparation for sending them to market. They have cows that arrive weekly and are generally on the farm for about 150-200 days until they reach their optimal weight for sale (different for each cow as determined by ultrasound). The 2700 (!!) cows are kept in open-sided barns designed with thought to protection from the elements, sunlight, space, waste disposal and even their comfort with new cushioned pads for them to stand on. Additionally they use wasps they purchase to eat fly larvae to keep the fly population under control.  This is definitely a well thought out business! In contrast to the huge beef cattle operation of Larson Farms, over at Lindale Farms they have 150 registered Holstein dairy cows and 130 heifers/calves in their care.  Despite being a business requiring a lot of time and dedication, the nature of the work allows for them to personally know their animals over the many years they keep them. All the cows are named and their histories known. Linda would refer to her “favorites” but had stories to tell about all the animals from calves to prize winning cows. The animals on this farm were kept in separate barns, divided by age, and given time in the pasture as well. At both farms the animals have individual medical charts, are attended by vets and dieticians and given antibiotics when ill.  With regard to the antibiotics each farm and related industry requires multiple rounds of testing to assure that animals receiving antibiotics are not entering the food chain.

 I was surprised to hear about the environment repeatedly on our farm day. The Mississipi River, run-off, and strategies for nurturing their land were all mentioned multiple times. It was apparent that each family farm valued the land they had, but were also aware that their actions affect others down the road or downstream.  Both families referred to the growing world population and what they personally were doing to try to meet that demand (much of the grain and soybeans in IL and specifically at Larson Farms already goes to China).

 Overall it was an amazing, busy day that taught me a ton about the planning and processes that go into making some of my families favorite foods. There is no way to capture all of the day’s events and discussions adequately. I am thankful for family farms like these when we sit down for steaks on the grill and ice cream for dessert!

Amy Hansmann
River Forest, Illinois